Child s carriage



UNITED STATES PATENT FFHQE.

GEORGE P. STEINBAGH, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

CHILDS CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,139, dated November 28, 1882.

Application filed April 11, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. STEINBACH, of Baltimore city, State of Maryland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Childrens Carriages; and I hereby declare the same to be fully, clearly, and exactly described as follows, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the body, the interior parts being shown in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the removable seat, back, and foot-rest extended to form a couch and mounted upon rockers to serve as a cradle; and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the body.

The object of my invention is to produce a childs carriagein which the back, seat, and footrest are adapted to form a couch or cradle, serving as the former either in connection with or separate from thecarriage-bod y, which latter is detachablefrom therunning-gear, and is mounted upon springs which constitute resilient rockers; and my invention consists, first, in acarriage in which the back, seat, and foot-rest are adapted to slide bodily forward and incidentally arrange themselves substantially in line to form a couch; second, in a body mounted upon transverse springs, which serve as rockers and make with the body a perfect cradle; third, in a carriage having its seat, back, and foot-rest removable and adapted to form a couch or cradle, leaving the carriage to be used, as usual, with cushions or pillows; and, specifically, in certain features of construction adapted to the attainment of the desired ends, all as hereinafter set forth. I would not have it understood, however, that I claim broadly a carriage in which the back,seat, and footrest are adapted to form a couch; nor do I claim broadly a carriage-body mounted upon rockers. Both are old, and were they not I apprehend that neither would be patentable broadly in view of the state of the art in cradles, reclining-chairs, and analogous devices.

In theaccompanyingdrawings,Aisthebody, of any desired form and construction. mounted upon the axles l on transverse springs J, removably clipped at j to the axles. These springs extend at the sides so as to form resilient rockers, and convert the body when removed from the running-gear into an ideal cradle, which will not jolt nor jar even when rocked upon an uneven surface. The entire interior of the carriage is removable from the body, and is mounted upon a false bottom, 0, having at its corners, by preference, casters 2', so that it may be rolled upon the floor. The base a is slotted at a for the attachment of rockers h, which are placed under the base and rest upon the bottom of the carriage, as shown in Fig.1. When it is desired to mount the base or upon the rockers they are placed in the slots a, as in Fig. 2, pins h, which are secured to the centers of the concave sides of the rockers, then projecting through holes in the base and being secured by thumb-screws.

To the sides of the base a are secured bars H, which serve as sides to the cradle or couch and as supports for the canopy-standards, whichlatterarelongitudinallyadjustablethereon. The bars serve also as convenienthandles whereby the base aand its attachments may be lifted from the body A.

At either side of the base a is a rail or guide, B, on which slides the seat-support O.

For the sake of clearness I have shown the interior parts of the carriage as devoid of the upholstery. They are of course cushioned and padded, as usual.

On the support 0 is secured the seat I), to which is hinged at c the back 0, and at b the front d. To the latter is hinged at d" the footrest e. These partsare preferably made of such length as, when extended as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, to practically fill the length of the body A.

About the middle of the sides of the seat are centrally pivoted levers F, connected at their upper ends with bars E, pivoted to the back 0, and at their lower ends with bars G, pivoted to the frontal. RodsD are pivoted to the back 0 and to the base a.

It will be obvious that should the supportG be drawn forward in the carriage-body the arms I) will draw down the back 0 and retract the upper ends of the levers F, incidentally, of course, throwing their lower ends forward and lifting the front (1 through the medium of the arms G.

I may employany convenient means for moving the support 0 forward,or it maybe drawn forward by hand. The means I haveshown in ICC the drawings consist of a slotted arm,f, se-

- cured to ashaft, f, journaled atf to the base a. A bar secured to the baseOpasses through the slot, and the end of the shaftf is squared for the attachment of a key, which is inserted throughahole in the side of the carriage-body. It is obvious that upon rocking the arm f the support C will be slid back or forth upon the rails 13. The support is made to slide smoothly, so that the carriage can be converted into a couch without waking a sleeping child, and, the parts which constitute the couch being distinct from the carriage-body proper, the integrity of the latter is preserved. This feature I believe to be new, and itsecures important ends. The appearance of the body exteriorly is always the same, and no crevices or openings are made at the back when the same is lowered to admit drafts of air to the childs head. Furthermore, the sleeping-couch is removable, and when removed the carriage is susceptible of all its ordinary uses, it being only necessary to add to it a cushion or rug to serve as a seat. Again, the device is a carriage and a crib or cradle, or two cribs or cradles, while occupying ordinarilyonly the space of a carriage, and space is an important consideration in some households.

The carriage costs but little more than an ordinary carriage of equal quality, and in use is not to be distinguished from an ordinary carriage except upon minute inspection. In thisrespectitdifiersfromthesleepingcarriages heretofore made. The latter are obviously sleeping-carriages, and that condemns them. Besides, they require peculiarly-constructed bodies.

My invention may obviously be applied at a trifling cost to carriages already in use. I have described and shown what I deem the best form of devices embodying myinventiou, but of course do not restrict myself to thepre- (-ise details of construction.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l; A childs carriage having its back, seat, and foot-rest or front board connected together and adapted to slide bodily forward in the carriage, and in so doing to arrange themselves substantially in line to form a couch.

2. A childs carriage having a body of the usual or conventional form and provided with a back, seat, and foot-rest bodily removable therefrom and adapted to form a couch.

3. A childs carriage having a seat-support adapted to slide forward in the body, and having a back and foot-rest or front board attached to the seatand arranged to form with the seat a couch.

4. A childs carriage having its seat, back, and foot-rest removable and provided with rockers to form a cradle.

5. In combination with the body, having guide rails or slides,the seat-support mounted thereon and the back and front board hinged to the seat and adapted, as the seat is slid forward, to arrange themselves in line to form a couch.

6. In combination with the base a, the back 0, connected therewith and with the seat,whereby when the seat is slid forward the back is lowered. r

7. In combination with the base a, the convertible seat and couch and the side rails, H.

S. In combination with the base a, the sliding seat and back and foot-rest, connected by actuating-levers, as set forth,-and the rods 1).

9. In a childs carriage, a seat having a back and front board hinged thereto and adapted to slide bodily forward in the carriage, in combination with mechanism, substantially as described, whereby in sliding the seat forward the back and front are brought into line there with, as set forth.

I one. P. STEINBAOH.

Witnesses:

Jim. T. MADDOX, R. D. WILLrAMs. 

